WWF RAW

4.3.2

BLAH

TONIGHT: A
member of the NWO is in action! Which one? We don't know!
Against who? We don't know! Well, what we DO know is that Triple H and
Kurt Angle will battle within the confines of the unforgiving STEEL cage!
Do join us!

T(O)N(I)G(HT):
"The Mind's Eye" is actually a pretty good yarn - it's also
fun to hear Denise Crosby's voice in the shadows a few episodes before
she's revealed in the SHOCKING season-ending cliffhanger....which turned
out to suck, but oh well. Anyway, it's lots of fun to see Geordi harass
O'Brien the entire episode with no apologies or NOTHIN' at the end.

TV-14-DLV - CC - One World Leader Attitude - WWF!

We open - it's Muggin' Vince with a special announcement! "May I have
your attention please! Oh, may I have your attention. Ric Flair will not
be here tonight. Due to, uh, circumstances beyond Mr. Flair's control.
Therefore, tonight's edition of RAW has been dubbed by me to be 'Fan
Appreciation NIGHT!' And during Fan Appreciation NIGHT you'll see a
fifteen foot high steel cage match in which Kurt Angle will be squaring
off against Triple H. RAW tonight returns to a state...of normalcy!"
Then Vince makes a DDP face

PYRO AWAY and once again we're off - coming to you LIVE from the Unnamed
Arena (which I presume to be the Frank Erwin Center) in the great
state capital of Austin, TX (HELLOOOOOO Chrispy) 4.3.2 and also from WWF
New York and TNN and TSN are probably involved and

TONIGHT:
Somebody in the NWO will do something! Yes!

TONIGHT: Triple
H vs. Kurt Angle in a steel cage! Why? Why NOT?

STONE
COLD STEVE AUSTIN JERKS THE CURTAINv. BOOKER TIO -
Damn, this is
like one of my big dream matchups and it opens the show? Maybe it's "CRZ
Appreciation NIGHT!" Did these two ever tie it up back when Booker was
doing WCW run-ins and injuring him for months at a time? Come to think of
it, isn't it sad that I should be able to remember whether something
happened or not nine months ago? It just all runs together for me these
days. Well, here we go. Lockup - to the corner, T reverses positions,
Austin switches back, lots of scuffling - referee "Blind" Tim White has
trouble getting between them for the break - T with a right, Austin with a
right, T, Austin, Austin, T put into the ropes, big whip spinebuster by
Austin, Fuck
You elbow, head to the buckle, chop, chop, chop, chop, into the ropes,
knee in the gut. Oops, that was the injured (and heavily wrapped
knee) and now Austin is limping. Stomp. Head to the buckle. Chop. T
with the eyepoke to turn it around. Right, chop, right, chop, right,
chop. Words for White. Whip into the corner is reversed, but T connects
with a back elbow and Austin does the Michaelsesque "backwards roll over
my neck" sell. T with a double sledge. Picks him up, chop, right, chop,
right, right, kick, kick, kick, stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp. I think T's
been spending too much time with Test. Picks him up - snapmares him over
(ooh, with Austin's bad neck?) and clamps on the headlock...ah, hell, the
NWO is out - T
quickly makes a break for it as the three swarm on Austin -
Austin DOES manage a spear takedown on Hall and some piston rights but
Nash and Hogan quickly take over on him. Hall goes outside, finds the
trusty toolbox, and picks out a "wrench." Back in and Hall waffles him,
completely bending the wrench in the process - which he bends back (oops -
guess we won't get a replay of THAT), then drops down to give Austin what
for in the verbal sense. Austin's gone for the blade. Crowd is so
shocked with what Hall did that they chant "Hogan sux." Austin pulls
himself up - right from Hall. Repeat with Hogan. Repeat with Nash.
Austin decides maybe he'd better stay put - no, he's pulling himself up
again...so Hall decks him again. Hogan picks him up for a right. Hey, I
bet Nash is next...ayup. Ross has now said "bleedin' like a hog" three
times. "You wanna know WHAT? NWO THAT'S WHAT" and Hall punches him
again. "You want some of me? You got it! WrestleMania! You're mine!
Get up!" Austin fails to get up, so Hall stomps on him. Stomp. Hall
picks him up for another right. Nash with a right, punctuated by him
saying "Daaaaaa" or something like that. Man Nash looks goofy. Hall
drops down again, then stands back up to do the "mememe" dance. Looks
like they're going to leave him laying - Hall stopping to stand over
Austin's corpse and strike a pose. Hogan presents Hall with what's left
of the wrench - no wait, Hall runs back into the ring, grabs Austin and
gives him another right hand. Austin's bleeding like a champ - Hall drops
down for a choke. Hall picks him up - KICK WHAM STUNNER by Hall. Now
Hall leaves again, but leans back in to talk some more trash. Austin is
dripping blood as we head to the break.

Hmm, no final bell. Let's cut off the time at the run-in and call it
(No
contest? 2:24?)

Sometimes you guys really miss out by not experiencing this show on my
cable system. This Surplus Computers ad featuring a WAY too enthusiastic
Bubba Paris (in funky sweater) is the FREAKIEST

Coming back LIVE!, Austin is crawling about and refusing all help from the
EMTs and refs - crowd chants "Austin" but it ain't helping much. I
suppose it's possible Austin is worried that the NWO might try to ram his
ambulance with a semi...nahhhhh Finally, Austin allows White to help him,
then shrugs him off to stagger backstage on his lonesome, going alongside
the ramp instead of up it.

A brief look at our hosts, then we move straight into

SCOTTY 2 HOTTY & ALBERT 2...ALBERT
(with RAW is brought to you by Burger
King, truth, and 1-800-CAL-LATT) v. THE NARCISSIteST
and... - you know,
just splicing an old intro onto new music didn't work for Diamond Dallas
Page back in WCW either, so WHY would you think that it would work NOW for
Test? Hide your children, Test has THE STICK: "Since it's uh, Fan
Appreciation Night, and I appreciate you all...so...so much (pfffgiggle) -
I thought I'd treat y'all to a little tag team match tonight. Now since
my partner is usually Booker T - and we all know Book was a little busy
tonight, so I thought I'd go out and find the 'perfect' replacement. Get
It? I didn't think so, since I'm in Texas, my partner, MR. PERFECT!"
Too bad the music started up before he could finish his intro - or IS it
too bad? Albert and Perfect lock it up - side headlock from Perfect,
Albert powers out, shoulderblock. Scoops him up - slams him down. Into
the corner - elbow up by Perfect on the charge, then directs referee
"Blind" Brian Hebner to look at Scotty while Test runs the apron to give
Albert a clothesline. No tag as Test is in - head to the buckle, right,
back elbow, right, right, right, right, kick, kick, threatning glance at
the referee (IMMUNITY!), into the opposite corner, follow lariat, back to
the first corner, follow lariat, pulled into a short clothesline. Tag.
Hebner very audibly says "two minutes, two minutes...two minutes," so I
guess we got about two more minutes here. Kick by Perfect. Wants the
Perfectplex but Albert blocks, then unleashes the scariest looking
gourdbuster this side of...somebody...who does a scary looking
gourdbuster. Wow, I'm just mailing it in. Albert makes the tag - block
by Scotty, right, right, right, into the ropes, reversal, Scotty with a
flying clothesline. Test in, Scotty ducks the clothesline and hits a
superkick. Albert whips Perfect into Test, Scotty climbs on the back,
Albert makes a train noise and hits the avalanche on the pile. Yikes.
Albert puts Perfect over the top to the outside - scoops him up, but
Perfect breaks free and puts Albert hard into the post. Meanwhile, Scotty
and Test, who have been doing NOTHING in the ring all this time, finally
get cracking when Scotty hits his "bulldog," does the little dance, makes
a little love, hits the karate chop, then falls to a surprise gutshot and
Perfectplex and 1, 2, 3 - see, Perfect was the legal man and...nah, I
don't know either. I'm very disappointed because at (2:19), this match
only went about 1:20 after Hebner said "two minutes" - oh wait, maybe
there's some post-match shenanigans going on here and I should be
watching. Perfect stomp, stomp, stomp, Albert in with a right, into the
ropes, clothesline by Albert - ducks the big boot from Test and puts Test
down. Perfect into the corner, yaaaaaavalanche, but Test DOES hit the
Wotsitolla Boot on Albert. Crowd gets really excited - ahh, RIKASHMONEY
is out to turn it back around for the forces of good. Ducks a clothesline
from Test - Rikishikick on Test, Perfect finally flumps down, so 'kishi
gives him the stinkface. Play his music! Scotty slaps him as he leaves -
'kishi back in - is this a staredown? No, it's a big hug...which the
cameras miss. And then nobody dances! What kind of world do we live in,
anyway?

JONATHAN
COACHMAN
stands backstage with Angle. All he's got to say is--
"Whoa whoa whoa - who cares what you have to say? All I'VE gotta say is,
thank God for Fan Appreciation Night! Because I am a fan. And I sure as
H-E-double-hockey-sticks appreciated watchin' Stone Cold Steve Austin get
his butt handed to him. What? And I appreciate Mr. McMahon makin' this
steel cage match tonight against me, between me and Triple H. And Triple
H, you didn't beat me last week on SmackDown!, oh no. I had you beat
until that freak Kane hit me in the head with a chair. You got really
lucky, Triple H - but tonight, in a steel cage, your luck is about to run
out - oh, good one, Angle - because tonight, you're in big trouble,
mister. Because while you're gonna be worrying about your WrestleMania
title shot that you don't deserve...what you need to be worrying about is
me! Why? Because I am more dangerous than you can possibly imagine.
Think about it, Triple H. I'm a man with nothin' to lose." Umm, so the
title shot isn't on the line again? Just when you think you've gotten the
handle on WWF logic... wait, that means Angle's gonna win tonight, right?
Since nothing's on the line...?

Big Show (and Kenny Wallace and Elliot Sadler) shill Stacker 2 - this ad
is Big All Over

And now, the Lugz Boot of the Week! From SmackDown!, Goldust sneaks up
and takes the hardcore title from Maven. Presumably he uses his
boot....umm...to....nah, I don't think he does. Hey was that Dean Malenko
scuttling away in the background?

GOLDUST is
already in the ring when we come back, to be interviewed by
LILIAN GARCIA.
(Wow, OLD SKOOL!!) She brings up the "once-forgotten 24/7
rule" and asks if he feels like he honestly deserves the-- whoops, he just
swiped the mic from her. "Deserve? Deserve ain't got nothin' to do
with it. - Clint Eastwood, Unforgiven, 1992. The fact is
young, poor Maven, just like all these people, are poor, naive simpletons.
24/7 has always existed, but nobody was stupid enough to attack the
Undertaker, just like nobody is going to be stupid enough to attack the
hardcore man of the all...ffffff....Goldust." Oops, some music is already
interrupting him...

WWF HARDCORE CHAMPIONSHIP: GOLDUST
(already in the ring) v. TAZZZZZZZZZZZZ
(with referee "Blind" Jacqueline) - Tazz duck,
right, right, whip is
reversed, duck, T-bone Tazzplex and Goldust goes outside. Tazz follows as
Goldust goes under the ring - fire extinguisher in the gut by Goldust.
Uppercut. Back in the ring we go - right hand, into the ropes, buttbutt.
Overhand looping right. Right. Right. Pose. Tazz responds with a kick
in the nuts. That'll work. Clothesline by Tazz. In the corner, kick,
kick, kick, whip into the opposite corner is reversed, and Goldust hits a
clothesline. Into Shattered Dreams position, right, right, back outside
for more weaponry - umm, his nuts are RIGHT THERE, Goldie. Can in, lid
in, Goldust in, there IS the Shattered Dreams. Yet Tazz comes right back
with a kick - kick - Goldust grabs the can, Tazz kicks IT into his face.
Grabs the lid - Tazz ducks (or is short, take your pick) Goldust's swing
and clamps on the Tazzmission! Goldust makes a desperate swing behind
him, connects twice (allegedly) and falls backwards on Tazz for 1, 2, 3.
(In Modesto, it's strictly for the
2:09)

In Austin's dressing room, Hall cracks open the Steveweisers and... hands
them off. "Welcome to Stone Cold's bar, what can I get for you?" After
some big swigs from Hogan and Nash, Nash does one of those Kunze style "I
love shoot comments that aren't supposed to be shoot comments" with "I'm
gettin' a little bored." They decide to take a little stroll. Add this
to Hogan's list of failed catchphrases: "Bow down when the NWO's comin' to
your town (it rhymes!)"

WrestleMania ad - Hogan/Rock hyped

Yo! The "WWF Flashback: WrestleMania's Greatest Hits" program will air
next Tuesday on TNN!

Catch the WWF Live! Thursday is SmackDown! in San Antonio and it's SOLD
OUT! Saturday is Kalamazoo, Sunday Ft. Wayne, RAW is Detroit and Tuesday
is Cleveland!

Look! It's the governor's house! It's the....place!

Coachman stands with Rob van Dam as we return. Let Us Take You Back One
Week and show you how he won the IC title shot at WrestleMania. He
promises to hit Regal with the "Five Star Splash" and the new
intercontinental champion will be...and then he points to himself. Lance
Storm walks in at this point and says van Dam got lucky last night on
Heat, but during the rematch tonight, he won't take him lightly...he'll
take him very seriously. "A little too seriously if you ask me, Lance.
You know, all that built up tension, that's not healthy. What you need to
do is lighten up." "Lighten up, relax, that's your big secret? Just need
to lighten up?" SLAP! "That light enough for ya, Rob?" van Dam runs a
veritable gamut of emotions in his facial expressions - stinging pain,
fighting back tears...then back to normal. "That's cool, Lance. We'll
settle this in the ring, huh?" Storm sets HIS face to "stymied."

Your hosts are a pair of kings - LARRY
& JERRY - and somehow talk shifts
from this upcoming match... to Christian...

Let Us Take You Back One Week as Page talks Christian out of quitting and
gets him to...smile

Coming back LIVE! Page gets Christian to smile. "I feel like an idiot!"
"You don't look like one!" "No?" Page painfully works in a catchphrase,
then tells Christian is doing so well, they're going to pass Phase One and
go staright to Phase Two. "Repeat after me - I like me." "I like me."
"I'm a good person." "I'm a good person!" "I'm a REALLY good person."
"I'm a--" he stops to answer his phone. "We're in the middle of a
session!" "What the hell is this...yeah? Well is there any question?
Pull the damn plug! Yeah, the faster she goes, the faster I cash in,
cha-ching! Yeah, call me back. Idiot. Grandma Edna, she's about to bite
it. She got a sweet will, don't worry about it. Anyways, where were we -
oh yeah. I'm a REALLY great person--" "Bro bro bro. Maybe we oughta go
back to Phase One." Then he makes a funny face and sighs. Are you
entertained?

The NWO are WALKING! Add this to Hogan's list of failed catchphrases:
"Hall 3:17" Spying a stagehand in an Austin T-shirt, Hall shoves him into
some clangy poles, then rips off his shirt. Hogan and Nash pull him
off...then tell him that while his back was turned, he flipped him off.
Hahaha, that's pretty funny actually. Hall goes back to work on him, then
Hogan and Nash upend a rack full of empty crates on top of him. Hogan
tells him to bow down when Scott Hall comes to his town. Keep working it,
Hogan. Keep working it.

Oops, I guess Drowning Pool is out - we are now looking at the Saliva CD!
"Superstar" is - oh wait, it's "just one of the WrestleMania theme songs."
WRESTLEMANIA IS TOO BIG FOR JUST ONE SONG

Look! WWF New York!

Inside is LEGITIMATE
GODFATHER, and THERE is your dancing for the
night.

WWF WOMEN'S
CHAMPIONSHIP:TRISH
STRATUS - THE FITNESS MODEL(with "WWF Divas: SEX on the Beach" ad -
it airs next Wednesday on UPN!) v.
JAZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ - Jazz shoves
Stratus down before we even get started - Stratus pops back up and pops
*Jazz* one. Jazz right back - head to the buckle, twice, Trish blocks and
puts Jazz' head into the buckle, elbow, kick, kick, kick, into the
opposite corner, nobody home on the charge. BIG slap by Jazz knocks her
down. Two handfuls of hair - and there's a pickup by the hair and thrown
down. Off the ropes, big legdrop, leg is hooked, gets 2. Jazz still in
control - picks her up by the half crab, then spins into the STF. Trish
does lots of screaming but doesn't give up - here's the slow crawl to the
ropes...referee "Blind" Jimmy Korderas looking in - nothing yet - Trish
grabs the ropes. Jazz breaks rather late. Trish with
"Iblockyourpunchyoudon'tblockmycrappyforearm/elbow," again, elbow, elbow,
elbow, into the ropes, clothesline, clothesline, pulled into the ropes,
flapjack! Trish laying in wait - kick to the head! 1, 2, NO! Knife-edge
chop by Trish - chop - chop - whip is reversed, Jazz pulls her into a
kick, upends her but Trish lands on her feet - wants Stratusfaction but
Jazz plants her feet and just shoves her into the corner by herself. Jazz
with a crappy elbow of her own - big hairmare. There's a shirtmare - and
Jazz keeps the top! Trish seems energized, though - with the big bra
spear - mounts and punches away, now punches the back, now puts on an
ersatz STF (more of an STC but oh well) - Jazz crawls and grabs the bottom
rope. Korderas gets to 5, but Trish refuses to break. Korderas has no
choice but to call for the bell. (DQ
3:16 - hmmm) Korderas finally
physically involves himself in tugging Stratus off of her - Stratus runs
around the ring, slaps Jazz, and may or may not have fallen out at this
point because she clutches at a strap and makes lots of threatening
gestures but no longer jumps about.

Stephanie talks to Jericho on the phone - ohhh, I guess no Jericho tonight
if he's "in Greenwich." Triple H walks up behind her while she blathers
on about nothing - he's got a box of her stuff and dumps it on the floor.
Stephanie is unhappy about things, but perks up when she finds a bottle of
her favourite brand of lotion, which she liberally applies in topical
fashion - wow, anybody else automatically know where this is going?
Ayup. Sadly, we don't get to see if there was a wacky vibrator in the
box.

Hey, look! It's The Undertaker! And he's WALKING!

SmackDown! is LIVE! this week! Here's some clips of the Rock just to
tease you!

This WrestleMania Moment is brought to you by Sour Skittles! From
WrestleMania XV, Butterbean puts the capper on Bart "Lefty" Gunn's career
with a knockout that sends him all the way to the WXO by way of Japan - or
was it the other way round...

AWESOMETAKER
drives out on his Beautiful Bourget Python Bike - damn, how
DID those steps float over and stand on end? We may NEVER know. Let Us
Take You Back to SmackDown! where Ric Flair made with the lead pipe and
said "No" one more time (amongst other things - go read the SmackDown!
report). Here's the RAW credits, transmitido en espanol SAP, TV-14-DLV
and CC boxes - we're close to turning the hour. "A few weeks back, I
issued a challenge to Ric Flair to fight me at WrestleMania. He said no!
So I asked him again, and again he said no. So it dawned on me that I was
gonna have to figure out what makes Ric Flair tick. What gets under his
skin enough to make him wanna fight me? So I had to beat up his best
friend. I had no choice but to take Arn Anderson out. Let's take a look
at the footage." Let Us Take You Back to Last Week. "Now I wanna set the
record straight, I did NOT want to victimise Arn Anderson like that. Ric
Flair MADE me do that. So Arn Anderson's blood is not on my hands; it's
on Ric Flair's hands, because all he had to do was say 'yes.' You see,
Ric Flair - he likes to call himself the Dirtiest Player in the Game.
Well Flair....don't fool yourself, because I'm more than willing to prove
to ya that you're not. And to ensure the fact that Ric Flair accepts my
challenge at WrestleMania, this morning ah, how do you say, I had to push
the envelope a little bit futher. Maybe too far. Who am I to say. So
Flair, as you sit there tonight at that medical facility, I just hope you
realise that you left me no other choice. You see, this morning, I had to
go pay your oldest son a visit. Now Flair, yer boy - his blood's not on
my conscience, it's on yours - because the sins of the father shall be
visited upon the son. Now Flair, as you watch this, I just want you to
remember, it's thirteen days until WrestleMania." Taker leaves the ring
as we cut to

Under the watchful eye of Dr. Tom Prichard, David Flair goes through some
work with some of the other developmental folkll at the Stamford training
facility. I guess this is Taker's personal cameraman... "Hey Flair!
David Flair!" Soupbone! Soupbone for another one! Soupbone for Flair!
Pritchard thinks about interfering, but Taker shoves him away. "Back off,
Pritchard! Mind your own damn business! What the hell are you lookin'
at? (scaring away everybody else) I'm telling you you better mind your
own (Goddam) business. Get up here." Flair is thrown into the wall,
then into the bathroom. "C'mere, boy." Soupbone! "Now - first one of
you son of a bitches opens this door - you're gonna regret it. You
understand?!" Back in the restroom. "Now, son - NOW we go to school."
Soupbone! Knee, soupbone, "see you're gonna ask your dad why are you
gettin' your ass kicked today." Flair's bladed. Soupbone, soupbone.
"C'mere!" Into the locker - Taker repeatedly bashes Flair's head into the
locker. Soupbone! "Get up!" Thrown into a shower - soupbone. "Yeah."
"What are you doing?" "What am I doin'? I'm KICKING YOUR ASS, what do
you think I'm doing?" Taker sits beside him and lifts him up - then puts
an arm around him...and turns to the camera. "You see, Flair...I toldja
that -- " soupbone " -- shut up! I told you that I wasn't gonna take no
for an answer. Now...this is your oldest boy here - and you know what he
means to me? He don't mean a DAMN thing to me. You, though - you got
what I want - and all it is is a 'yes.' This is - this is on your head,
man. 'cause I don't give a damn. You all right, David? Huh? You wanna
say anything to your dear ol' Dad?" "Lemme go..." "You wanna - SHUT UP!
You wanna ask him why you're getting your ass kicked? Hey - hey don't you
have a little brother? No no no no - no no no no - you have a sister,
don'cha? Hehehehehehe - what's it gonna be, Flair? 'cause I really don't
care how far I gotta go. School's over for today. You done real good,
boy. Hehehehehehe - you done real good." Taker leaves him laying - and
bleeding. Whoa, Flair's got the Michael Cole frostdo! Also, it looks
like the WWF has picked up that old ECW/WCW habit of forgoing a steady
camera shot in favour of the old bob/weave/zoom in/zoom out/80s telephone
commercial technique. Does that mean Heyman is booking this?

"WWF Flashback: WrestleMania's Greatest Hits" ad

WrestleMania X8 gets a local cable slot, too

Commentators react to Taker's heinosity - they expect Flair to have a
response on SmackDown!

POINTS TO SELF (with another ad for
"WWF Flashback" on THE NEW TNN) v.
LANCE STORM - van Dam points to himself, only he
slaps Storm in lieu the
third point...well, NOW they're even! van Dam gutshot, elbow, elbow,
elbow, jumping spin kick. Storm out - van Dam pescado! Elbow, elbow,
head to the STEEL steps. Gutbuster on the barricade - van Dam adds some
uppercuts to boot. van Dam on the apron - points to himself - spinning
guillotine to the...butt. I dunno. Back in the ring - slingshot legdrop
and van Dam gets 2. Boot to the head. Storm manages a jawbreaker to turn
it back. Right, right, chop, chop, chop, into the opposite corner is
reversed, van Dam somersaults up but Storm dropkicks the knees to chop him
down before he can connect. van Dam clutches his left knee, so Storm
grabs the left leg and wrenches it violently - elbowdrop on the knee,
elbowdrop, elbowdrop, stretches the leg until van Dam grabs the bottom
rope. Pulls him out by the leg - kneedrop to the knee, kneedrop,
kneedrop. "RVD" chant starts up so Storm points to himself. Storm drapes
the leg over the rope and continues to work on the knee - knee to the knee
- van Dam fires back and connects with a dropkick. He vaults up...but
Storm crotches him (or knees him) - Storm up for a superplex!! - 1, 2, no.
Storm outside, pulling him by the left leg - wrapping it around the pole -
Storm with some punches to the face as well. Back in - pointing to
himself again! Got van Dam's leg - dragon screw legwhip! Into the
Canadian Maple Leaf...van Dam crawls...and grabs the rope. Storm pulls
him back to the center by the leg...van Dam tries an enzuigiri but Storm
ducks it - however, van Dam connects on the way back with a mule kick.
Storm's clothesline ducked, van Dam hits a back elbow. Elbow, elbow, into
the ropes, Viscera kick with the good leg - cover...2. van Dam limps -
off the ropes, wants Rolling Thunder but can't plant, so he settles for a
spinning legdrop. van Dam in the corner - can't vault on one leg, so he
climbs up instead - Storm meets him there with a right hand. Storm to the
second floor - wants to go up top, but slipped on the rope - van Dam
manages to counter with a super sunset flip (!) but only gets 2 when he
fails to apply the leverage with only one leg to keep him down. Stomp by
van Dam. Into the corner is reversed, van Dam dumps Storm up and over -
Storm springboards with a clothesline and gets 2! Storm has a problem
with THAT particular count of referee "Blind" Jack Doan and lets him know
about it. He might be taking too long - van Dam springs up and hits a
spin kick! van Dam manages the vault - here's the Fivestar - bah - 1, 2,
3. (5:45)
Wait, so Regal's "pompous" but van Dam's......? Here's your
replay of the Fivestar. It remains to be seen if van Dam's "injury" will
last past tonight.

Nash enjoys some coffee while Hall says that Austin, HE'S the animal.
Before they can do rock/paper/scissors to see who reprazents tonight, they
dump some SCALDING HOT COFFEE on the coffee boy. Okay, here we go - Hall
and Nash with scissors, Hogan with rocknowaitpaper and he's out. Hall
gets paper while Nash takes rock. Hogan said "bow down" about a hundred
times during this segment.

Commentators hype Star Trek Movies This Week, then talk some more
about....well, not much. Then we move to

WWF Desire looks at The Rock to POD's "Alive." "The easiest way for me to
describe the passion I have, describe that vibe and that feeling that
comes out every time I perform is by showing somebody. The great thing
about it is I can go out there and I can sing, I can smile, I can be
angry, I can be frustrated, and just all that, when all that comes out, I
honestly feel that way."

Hogan promises the Rock will bow down to him at WrestleMania. But what
kind of shape will he be in on Thursday? They need to give him a special
NWO reception then. But tonight it's all about Hall 3:17! Nash puts on
his game show host voice and says it's time to play "Let's Pick An
Opponent!" and tumbles the Royal Rumble Easter eggs. "I hope it's not
Andre the Giant," says Hogan. They read the slip. Now they're WALKING!
And shoving a floor director. Why didn't they tell us whose name was on
the slip? Probably to try to get us to sit through this

WWF Shop Zone Dot Com ad

Tough Enough 2 Season Premiere! It's Thursday on MTV! Are you excited
yet?

CLEAN & SOBER (with You Know Who and
Big & Tall - and Let Us Take You Back
to Earlier Tonight - wow, they DID find an angle for the wrench shot
replay after all) v. ? - They point to Austin's
blood on the canvas -
whee. "Hey yo. It's Fan Appreciation Night, and I'm sure all you fans
appreciated Scott Hall kickin' Stone Cold's ass. And one more treat for
ya, it's Fan Appreciation Night, so the next WWF Superstar who enters this
ring, in MY mind, is Stone Cold Steve Austin." Actually, I was hoping for
the Big Show, expecting Funaki, wouldn't have been surprised with Kane,
but instead we got STONE COLD SPIKE
DUDLEY. Well, of COURSE. Toothpick
in the face! Lockup, knee by Hall, clubbing blow in the back, another.
Hall's in street clothes, I neglected to mention. Going for a suplex but
Spike sneaks in an inside cradle for 2 - Hall with a quick clothesline to
turn it back. Into the ropes, Spike ducks, crossbody caught - there's the
fallaway slam. Hall, once again, is so over with this crowd, that they
can't help but spontaneously utter "Hogan sux" over and over. Hard whip
into the corner and follow (slow) clothesline. Back to the original
corner, and Spike pops out with the headbutt to the gut. Wants the Dudley
'dog, but Hall crotches him on the top rope, instead. Right hand puts him
down. Hall gets into discussions with referee "Blind" Nick Patrick while
Nash, on the floor, grabs Spike and drops him facefirst on the corner of
the mat. Hogan adds a scoop...and a battering ram into the ringpost.
Ross says "human javelin" and millions of annoying fans sport wood at the
thought of the words "lawn dart" - and I consider investing in bullets.
Spike back in the ring - placed on top - death superplex from Hall.
Thasshit. Razor's Edge coming up - booooom. Hall makes the pin with a
foot on the chest. 1, 2, 3. (2:33) And I think the
saddest thing was
I didn't get to see Hall's chokeslam and Giant impersonation. Spike is
tossed - Ross promises "hell toupee."

"Finally, the Rock is coming back to SmackDown!" What, has he been gone
THAT long? Oh, it's another LIVE SmackDown! spot, okay

You know, they probably should have had someone look at the rest of the
names in the tumbler, only to find they all said Spike or had blank pieces
of paper or something. Ah well.

The WWF Superstars appear on "The Weakest Link" on Sunday! Check your
local listings!

Garcia: "Ladies and gentlemen, at this time it gives me great pleasure to
introduce to you - making his return to the World Wrestling Fedration -
the newly crowned World's Strongest Man, Austin Texas' own
MARK HENRY!"
Hey, that's a damn lie! He's from SILSBY!

The music switches to the ominous "Theme From The Lowering Of The Cage" as
the cage...lowers.

Wait, was that it? Henry comes out and does nothing, then the cage...oh
wait

In the dressing room, Angle meets up with Stephanie. "Steph, I need to
talk to - HOLY sweet mother of God!" Well, she's covered in hives.
Shucks, we didn't see THAT one coming. I'm so glad she found a reason to
EMOTE and SCREAM and SCREAM and EMOTE and SCREAM and SHRIEK and EMOTE and
PLEASE let's move on

UP NEXT: STEEL
CAGE MATCH!!

Big Show shills Stacker 2 - again

Another "Flashback" ad

Sour Skittles sez: 2 WEEKS TO WRESTLEMANIA X8!

Drowning Pool's "Tear Away" is yet another WrestleMania theme song -
apparently Drowning Pool AND Saliva will perform LIVE at WrestleMania!
Well how about that.

THE NEW MAN(with WrestleMania X8 is brought to you by SOUR
SKITTLES!!) v. KURT ANGLEwithin the confines of the unforgiving STEEL cage -
escape to win - Note well that in order to strike
his spit take at the most dramatic moment, it only takes H *five seconds*
to climb to the top of the cage. Wanna bet he never gets there quicker
than TEN during the match proper? Well, they never DID put the title shot
on the line, which not only seems to ensure that Angle will win, but that
it will be a totally meaningless win. Sorry to spoil it for you, folks.
HERE WE GO: Staredown to start. They lock it up - to the corner, rolling
around on the ropes - then they break. Let's do it again - collar and
elbow tieup - H pushes him away. Angle with a shove. H with a right.
Angle bounces around a bit, then finally returns to his feet. They hook
it up again - to the corner, H reverses, Angle reverses, Angle tries the
right, H blocks it and lands one of his own. Angle back up - H right,
right, Angle right, H, Angle, H, Angle, Angle grabs the side headlock but
Angle powers out...only to fall to a shoulderblock. Angle wants to slow
it way down, and takes his sweet time getting back up. Angle wants the
lockup again - no, it's a ruse, as he connects with a kick to the gut.
Angle tries to ram H into the cyclone fencing that makes up the cage wall,
but H blocks it with his hands. Right hand breaks the hold. Right by H.
Another right puts Angle down. Picking him up, H puts Angle into the
ropes, then hits a HIGH back body drop that crashes him to the mat. This
just in: Ross has proclaimed Fan Appreciation Night "lame." Arm wringer
by H...into a clothesline. H staying on him...pulled into a short
clothesline. H wants a third, but Angle ducks and grabs the waistlock -
before he can execute the suplex, H reverses back to a waistlock of his
own - Angle drops down and rolls into the ANGLELOCK but H turns his body,
then kicks Angle away - Angle hits his head on the wall on the bounce. H
is up first, and rams the back of Angle's head into the wall again. H
finds himself at the door and frantically tries to open it - but referee
"Blind" Teddy Long isn't in a helping kinda mood at this stage. H grabs
the legs and stomps between 'em. Angle's head meets the buckle. H with a
kick, another kick, a third kick and Angle falls to a seated position. H
puts his boot on Angle's neck and squeezes. H to the second rope - Ten
Punch Count Along gets to six before Angle grabs H and gives him Snake
Eyes on the top turnbuckle. H is slow to recover, and Angle is ready when
he does, giving him a BIG clothesline. Angle decides to try to climb over
the top...and gets pretty close before H takes off like a shot to grab his
ankles and pull him back in. Body shot, body shot, and beals him back in
from up high. H grabs Angle again - but Angle lands the uppernut and H
feels it for sure. "Angle sux!" chant as Angle gets ready to take charge
- belly-to-belly overhead suplex! Angle with a stomp. Angle grabs him
for a SECOND overhead belly-to-belly. Angle is starting to feel better
about his chances. Stomp. Winds up - on the right hand. Right. Right,
right, H is in the corner now, right, stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp. Again,
Angle tries to ram H's head into the side of the cage - again H blocks -
elbow to the gut, elbow, right, right, into the ropes, Angle ducks, grabs
the waistlock and hits the German suplex! Angle keeps the fingers
clenched - a SECOND German suplex! And there's a THIRD as Angle releases.
Angle to the door (finally some smarts!) - it's open and Angle starts
through the ropes...but H again manages a speed of light recovery to pull
him back in - Angle goes to the headbutt to the gut - four times - right
hand - into the opposite corner, but H ducks the clothesline and counters
with the neckbreaker. Still, it's Angle to his feet first...H rushes in
but meets the elbow. But when Angle rushes - he eats the high knee. H
with a right hand, Angle into the ropes, H with the spinebuster. Into the
ropes, reversed, Angle's head is down, H hits the facebuster. Both men
are down once again - this time H is up first. Slowly he walks to the -
no, not to the door, he's climbing up instead. Almost out but Angle does
a sprint, climbs onto the top rope and grabs the ankles...but H kicks
Angle away! Angle reaches - and misses! H is on top...no, Angle makes a
last-ditch grab of the ankle and gets it - then yanks on the tights to get
him back into the ring the hard way. H moves for the door, but Angle
grabs him and gives him THE OLYMPIC SLAM!! Both men are down and nobody's
moving. Angle rolls onto his back first...slowly rises...winds up as H
gets to HIS feet - Angle with a clothesline but it's DUCKED - H with a
gutshot - setting up the Pedigree - HITS IT! But that took everything out
of him...H can barely crawl - aw FUCK, STEFFO is out - Long tries to
stop her and send her back - and she DOES turn back, briefly - but as soon
as Long turns HIS back, she shoves him hard into the cage, knocking him
out. Then she runs over to the door and slams it on Triple H's head.
What a waste. Angle is over - HE wants out....but Stephanie demands Angle
continue punishing Triple H. Angle FINALLY rams his head into the side of
the cage - and into another side. Stomp, mount, right, right, right,
right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right. Sure
enough, H is "opened up" - Angle does the "makin' coleslaw" spot with H's
head. Stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp, this match was going SO well until SHE
showed up. Angle throws H into the cage wall yet again. Angle opens the
door and...no, now it's *Angle* who wants to go back for more. Angle
giving him the bad mouth...but Triple H manages a double leg takedown -
and a WOW Catapult into the cage wall! So Stephanie slides a STEEL chair
into the ring. Angle goes to pick up the chair - but H kicks him before
he can grab it, and HE grabs the chair - but before he can swing it, Angle
kicks him in the gut. DOUBLE CLOTHESLINE and both men are down! Still no
sign of Long. H is up first - DDT ON THE CHAIR! H crawls...but spies
Stephanie holding the door shut - so he decides to climb the wall instead.
This brings Stephanie INTO the ring, grabbing the chair - and lightly
tapping him in the buttocks with the chair (Ross: "Right in the kidneys!")
H slips, and crotches himself on the top rope. Stephanie with another
wussy chairshot in the back - H slides off the rope, but ends up with his
shin between the ropes and tied up. Stephanie pulls Angle to the
outside...and to the win. (15:36) Ross: "I can't
believe this CRAP!" Stephanie puts Angle's arm over her shoulders and
helps him up the ramp - Angle is out on his feet - H is STILL tied up in
the ropes - oh, and bleeding. Raw Zone credits up, WWF logo up, and our
time is up. See ya later.